Day 12 - Fishkill, NY - Gettysburgh, PA

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Day 12

We left that dump of a hotel and headed out early. We couldn’t get out of there quick enough. Our drive today consisted of about 4 hours and a stop at Hershey Park in Hershey, PA. Grandma and Grandpa were headed for Lords Valley where her father was born and raised (more on that to follow). We had to make a stop prior to going in to the park at the grocery store so I could buy discounted tickets. I did some research and was able to save about $40 total. So worth it! When we got to the parking lot of the park we decided to pay for the upgraded parking lot so we could walk back and forth and get water and snacks. The park was packed! When we finally got in, Theo and Megan headed for the Great Bear roller coaster (a hanging coaster) and Mason and I headed for Wildcat wooden roller coaster. OMG! It was so much fun. We met back up and Megan rode the Fahrenheit (straight up and down) and then we had a quick lunch of Subway and headed for more coasters. Our original plan was to go to their water park as well, but it was so busy there we decided against it and to just ride the coasters. Megan and I found the Kissing Tower and rode it up for a beautiful view of Hershey. Ted and I then left the kids and headed for the car for some water and a quick AC break. We were so sweaty from the humidity...it was very gross! When we got back inside the park, we found the BEER garden. We had time to sit down and have an ice cold local brew (can’t remember the name of it) and then met up with the kids. We had a great day! We decided it was time to head to Chocolate World and then we needed to get a move on. We had an hour drive to our hotel in Gettysburg, PA. We were glad we left when we did. We saw a huge thunderstorm brewing and when it finally hit us it was unlike anything we had ever been through. The rain poured down for about 30minutes. People were pulled over on the freeway with their hazards on. Lucky for us, Theo was driving and we were following a delivery truck that was headed in the same direction. By the time we reached our hotel, we were exhausted from the long day. The kids told us the next morning that was the best day they had ever had. That made it soooo worth it!

Next stop, Gettysburg and our cabin in Tennessee!



GMA, here.............Art and I left the youngin’s on their way to Hershey Park and headed to Lords’ Valley, Pa. It’s an hour North of Hershey and we were there to look for my father’s boyhood.

He spent his summers’ (till age 16) in Lords’ Valley, with his father’s cousins Martha and her brother. They ran the U.S. Post Office and it was his get away from the stress of the big city and family. He felt special and was shown a lot of affection. He swam in the river with the local boys and helped Cousin Martha with her garden. At the end of summer he would reluctantly return home dreaming of his next summer adventure. Art and I found the old Post Office and the swimming hole. It lays in ruin, but enough is there to see it. We then travelled up the road 15 miles to Hawley Pa. where my Grandfather grew up. We saw the garage where he worked and the Lutheran church he attended. It was fun seeing all the places my family enjoyed in their youth.

Then it was on to Gettysburg, for a really exciting day looking at Battlefields.

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Comments

[Missy]

Travile
Humidity, heat, and storms, Welcome to my world. LOL